In the Twelve Labors of Hercules, Hercules cleaned King Augeas’ stables in one day.
The stables had not been cleaned for many years and contained an enormous accumulation of dung. Rather than remove it by hand, Hercules redirected the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the stable grounds. Their rushing water washed the filth away rapidly.
The feat was remarkable because the task seemed practically impossible under ordinary conditions. Hercules’ solution used engineering and the landscape instead of brute strength alone.
Eurystheus did not accept this labor as valid because Augeas had promised Hercules payment, and because Hercules had used the rivers. The dispute is why the traditional total became twelve rather than ten. The story also gave English the phrase “Augean stables,” meaning a place of extreme disorder.